Today in History, I got to learn more about the life of a young Russian named Lena Brodsky who moved to America when she was, I think, 14 or 15, I already forgot.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDYIt1WoQF

3:30, time for me to go home, which I forgot to mention, is in the mountains. Why do I live in the mountains? Well, because my parents are assumed to be dead and my other relatives don't live nearby. I go to school because the money my parents had left went towards this year of high school for me. The last time I saw my parents I was 15 and they told me that they were going to be going on a business trip in Europe to try and join with another company. The plane they flew in crashed and when a group of tourists found the plane, they reported no survivors. They said all they saw was the burning plane and no bodies. The disappearance of my parents may possibly be the reason why I have my mental illness. But, God must have decided it was time for them to come home with Him; up to Heaven.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyU2TKGy8p

My home, on Earth, is Deadrock Mountain. The place reeks of smoke, looks just as bad, and there's no grass anywhere or even any animals for that matter, hence the name, Deadrock Mountain. I've got no company up in Deadrock Mountain, except God, and he keeps me feeling joyful even when times are tough.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPHJZvL6Ee

Boom! Boom! Boom!copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4SyNmAJKq

It's thundering? But, there are hardly any clouds in the sky. The sudden thunder came again, but this time even louder than the first.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaZidS3Tqc

Boom! Boom! Boom!copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡjm2061wS8b

Just then, a shadowy figure appears maybe 3 yards away from me, just standing there. I take my backpack off of my back, set it down, and go examine the mysterious and ominous figure. I stop myself in my tracks when I'm only 3 feet from the figure and the figure swiftly opens its eyes. They are a bright and glowing red, staring right into my eyes, probably into my mind as well. The figure also had pitch black claws and its facial features were, well, kind of cloudy. (See what I did there?) The figure then started speaking, "I am the Shadow. And I am here to make myself an army of shadow soldiers." I just stared at him and said, "That's really the best you got?"copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Hf0f3nPM8

"Well, yes, I guess so. I would have said something about taking over the city but I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡgbjfuw7xpy

"If you're a villain, you're supposed to make the victim feel uncomfortable. Haven't you seen the movies?"copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡKIVMJ2OgVW

"No."copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3EH4TKrJx

"Oh. Okay, anyways, no, I don't want to be a part of your shadow army of anything and I don't want to help some villain take over the city, so, good luck finding someone who is willing to do so."copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0ISfcpnKP

"Oh, don't worry. I already have." The Shadow flies towards me and stabs its right claw into my heart. The pain I felt was excruciating, unbearable. As I take my last few breaths, I watch the Shadow disappear into thin air like a large dust ball being sucked into God's vacuum. I figured that thing would have turned me into a shadow soldier anyways because that's what happens quite often in the movies I've seen. But it looks like he might have killed me instead of turning me into a shadow soldier. Maybe God wants me to come home, or God is thinking my time isn't up yet and he'll bring me back to life. My lifeless body just lay there and I can only trust that God has a plan for me.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡWuyRgiU4yP

The Next day…copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00TEIXysoi

It has been almost an entire 24 hours since I've been killed by the Shadow and nothing has happened just yet. I haven't seen the light, no angels, no gates to Heaven or Hell, nothing. My body is still laid on the ground, continuing to stay lifeless.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYjIRzUgWF

Thump.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5T9ELqWFuv

Wait, is that what I'm praying it is?copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡvvwoaemJHK

Thump. Thump.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GJlpAUkRR

My heart, it's… it is beating! God must have wanted me to live longer! But wait a minute… my vision… all of the things around me look darker. I must be wearing a mask! I look at the bottom of the mask, or shoulder piece, which was cut into spike shapes, was red. And my left arm, it feels… like air. It feels like my left arm has been replaced by a cloud. I look at my left arm… I yell in terror. But I don't have a mouth on my mask. And my arm looks exactly like the Shadow's! But, my mental illness, my anger inside me is strong and I can feel it about to burst out. My eyes, I noticed, glowed just like the Shadow's as well, but I don't have eyeballs. My eyes are on my mask. They were a blue-violet color because I was scared. Now, they are in the shapes of frowns and they are a glowing red, meaning I am angry.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXK8Bwyxb3

Before I even think about what I'm doing, I run back to the city and I found myself running towards the city bank. I am running faster than I have ever done in my life. I thought I was going to fall over from how fast I ran, but I kept my balance and I made it to the bank. I stood outside of the bank, trying to regain control over my mind, but my anger, my rage, was all too powerful at the moment. I kicked the entrance doors wide open and furiously stomped towards the desk. The clerk was aghast and he hid under the counter. As I approached the counter, I could hear a familiar sound.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Hzz6JNstu

Click. Click.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvbWQBwLVo

Then I heard a fear-stricken voice, "Please, sir! Don't hurt us! Leave now or I'll call the police!" The voice came from the clerk. The clerk slowly came out from under the counter and stood up, aiming his Revolver at my chest. Before I could even react, I swiftly kicked the gun into the air and caught it with my right hand. I aimed the gun at the clerk's head and said, "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Not the smartest thing to do when you're being robbed. Now, take me to the vault or I'll blow your brain across the walls!" I continue to aim the gun at the clerk's head as he takes me to the bank's vault located in a secret room at the other end of the building. The place looked like any ordinary bank. The front desk was neat; there were chairs and even cubicles. The place smelled like, well, I can't answer that because I couldn't smell a thing. When we made it to the vault, the clerk just stopped and did nothing, which infuriated me. "What are you waiting for? Open the vault!" I shouted, holding the gun to the clerk's head.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUln2WUBu6

"Okay, okay. I'll unlock the vault for you." The clerk walks over to the vault, which was password protected. The clerk typed in a code to unlock the vault but something else happened. Beep! Beep! Beep! That clerk had set off the alarms and contacted the police instead of opening the vault. I glare at the clerk viciously. "Why you little…"copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyNe7TXVmr

Thud! I feel myself stumble slightly after the clerk had punched me across the face and run off. I aimed my gun at his head but he had made it out of the store too quickly for me to make a shot. Well, that's just great. Now I've got to try and escape without getting caught by the police. I thought to myself before I started running for the door. Suddenly, I hear the sound of sirens not too far from where I'm standing. I run as fast as I can out the door, but I'm too late, of course. A tall and muscular police officer steps out of one of the three cars and shouts, "Drop the gun and put your hands in the air!" I drop my gun, but all I do is stare afterwards. The police officer seemed to be losing his patience. "I said, put your hands in the air! We have you surrounded!" I just watch the police officer keep his finger off the trigger and I just let out slight chuckle. "Well, when you put it like that, no." I grab the gun and suddenly, I start flying.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzWCvNd2y8

Bang! Bang! Bang!copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡqb2Mz5JtHd

Are they seriously shooting at me right now? All I can hear now are the intense sounds of gunfire and the sound of the bullets flying by.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmMnAThyOD

Thud!copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfcVRII4Kh

What the…? I've been shot in the shoulder of my right arm. I can feel blood running out onto my arm and I fly off back to Deadrock Mountain to see if I can apply pressure and figure out a way to heal.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbsfX2lGw2

Oh, man. I'm feeling dizzy. I can't fall to the ground. The pain in my shoulder was screwing up my flying skills drastically. I could barely control, let alone keep myself awake I've lost so much blood. I landed safely, although I fell to the ground as soon as I made contact with the ground. I grabbed my jacket and my backpack which were lying right next to each other. I opened up my backpack and pulled out my tweezers I got from my Science class. I pulled up my shirt sleeve and cautiously attempted to pull the bloody bullet out of my shoulder.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡU6oGtZALxp

Squish! I successfully got the bullet out but the wound started bleeding even more. I wrapped my jacket around the bleeding wound tightly and held it in place and lie down on the ground. My eyes are turning gray, probably meaning I'm tired. They match the color of the dull, gloomy sky. I thought it was going to rain since it looked so stormy in the clouds. The single thought running through my mind at the moment was 'I'm very blessed to still be alive. God could've had me die from getting shot in the heart or die from excessive blood loss, but he must still need me alive. God must still have a mission for me that I need to accomplish. But for now, I need to rest for awhile so that my flesh wound can heal." Thinking so much just made my head start to hurt a bit and it made me just want to fall asleep on the soft, slick grass. I just wanted to make my own grass pillow and fall asleep and just forget that I just recently attempted to rob a bank, had police start shooting at me for trying to rob the bank, and I ended up getting shot in the shoulder.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡowEBrvjaA4

I've been wondering how the school has been doing without me. What if my teachers are calling the police and having them search for me? What if they are panicking and having the entire school search for me? Or they might be celebrating me being gone so they all don't have to deal with me and my mental illness. Or, what if the Shadow has gotten to my school? What if he has turned my friends into shadow soldiers? Or even worse, what if the Shadow has turned my enemies into shadow soldiers? I'd be in grave danger if I had to confront a shadow soldier that used to be my friend, or my teacher, or even my enemy. Now with this thought stuck in my head, all I want to do is find my friends, since I know where they live and where they like to hang out at, and see if they've been turned into whatever I've been turned into, and also, track down the Shadow and defeat him before he's gotten to everyone I know. Worst case scenario is that, yes, he has already gotten everyone I know, but I'm not going to let my negative thoughts get the best of me. First thing I'm going to do tomorrow is search for my friends and form my own group to take down the Shadow.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNfU3dXpTt

As I was thinking about all of the things I could do with my friends to take down the Shadow, I had, without realizing it, fallen into a slumber.copyright protection147ＰＥＮＡＮＡsOAQu3P4Pm